Part of His World
by Ava Miranda Dakedavra
Summary: "And now, Old Girl, we wait for her to have a terrible day. Then I can – " he was cut off by a loud beeping sound, making him blink, "What? No. Not stealing. I'll give her back." He smirked a little, closing the door, "Eventually."
1. Skimming the Surface

The Doctor sighed, running his hands through his hair as he examined wherever it was the TARDIS had taken him. It was dark out, where he was standing on the roof of a building. Across the alley was an apartment, with a slanted windowed roof that showed him the young woman walking around in it. She looked sad, shuffling through papers before groaning and chucking them at the counter of her kitchen. He stepped closer, sitting on the edge of his roof and peering closer at her.

She was decidedly pretty, with curly brown hair and brown eyes set into a pretty face. She sighed, leaning against her wall before the tension in her face and shoulders relaxed. As the window was open, he could hear faint music playing before she produced a stick from her pocket and waved it, the music automatically getting louder. It was a woman's voice, singing about how something 'starts in her toes, and she crinkles her nose.' The young woman before him grinned and started to sing along before the song quickly ended, producing a newer one of the same woman singing, faster and upbeat than the other one and singing about something 'brighter than the sun.'

As she was singing, the Doctor grinned and stepped closer, squinting into her apartment to find a clue as to who this woman was. On an end table he could spot a picture of her and two boys, one with red hair and many freckles, the other with black hair, glasses, and a peculiar scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt. But the funny thing about the picture was that it moved, the two boys producing a banner that proclaimed "Happy Birthday, Hermione!", making the girl laugh and hug the two around their necks. Since these three were so close, his mind immediately jumped to the conclusion of 'siblings,' yet they looked absolutely nothing alike.

At the abrupt ringing of a telephone, Hermione stopped singing, waving the stick to silence her song as she padded to the phone. "Hello?" she asked before silently groaning, walking back towards the papers she'd carelessly chucked, waving her stick once more so that the chord dragged along the rest of the phone in the air so it could follow her. "Yes, Chess, I _am_ still working. No, no…" she suddenly grinned, rolling her eyes, "No, I'm not trying to ditch you. It's just that – I don't have enough _time_ – "

This made the Doctor stare much more intently at her, watching her walk around her apartment. He even got up and walked so that he could watch her movements better.

"No – no, we haven't figured it out yet," she sighed and shook her head, "I don't think we ever will. Not in _this_ decade, anyway. Yes – " she chuckled, "I know – I know, it's going to change soon. But, still, I can't go out toni – what? Oh, of course. Send my regards? Thanks." She sighed, walking around and letting her gaze wander. She stopped abruptly, blinking. "What? Oh – yeah, I'm here," she turned back to her phone call, "I just thought I saw a blue police box from the 1960's on top of my neighbors' roof. No – no, I don't do drugs!" She laughed as the Doctor peeked back over the ledge of the roof, watching as she scratched the back of her head before letting her arm drop. Apparently the thought of a blue police box on her neighbors' roof didn't trouble her.

"Perfect," the Doctor smirked. She hung up, sighing again, the frown there instead of a smile. She started humming, walking into another room where she would be out of his sight, singing a little as she left. The Doctor jumped up, patting the now-visible TARDIS as he stepped inside, "And now, Old Girl, we wait for her to have a terrible day. Then I can – " he was cut off by a loud beeping sound, making him blink, "What? No. Not _stealing_. I'll give her back." He smirked a little, closing the door, "Eventually."

* * *

**I don't know when I'll update or even what this is going to be about, as I've only ever seen a few episodes of Doctor Who (the one with van Gogh, Pompeii, the one where the Daleks are in WW i or ii, and a bit of the one where they're in that hotel in space. And only the Pompeii one was the 10th Doctor.) So, I dunno, I'm probably going to have to do some "research" (pfft, yeah right, total Whovian marathon) before it gets any exciting. One more chapter before I have to "research." Pfftchtpfft. :D**


	2. Thinking About It

Hermione stepped into her apartment, gritting her teeth a little as she shut the door with her back. She angrily kicked her shoe into the wall, growling a little before the other went sailing right behind it.

"Stupid Ministry – stupid work, stupid coworkers, stupid _idiots_," she muttered, unbuttoning her blouse and flinging it off into a pile on the floor once she entered her bedroom, stepping into the bathroom to turn on the shower. "I mean, _who_ in their _right mind_ would even _think_ to cross-breed Acromantula with a bloody sodding _dragon?_ This whole world's gone 'round the bend!"

Once she was showered, muttering to herself the whole time, and she'd stuck her wet hair up in a messy bun, she tugged on a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She sighed, stepping into her living room with her eyes closed and her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, "I need to pick up drinking."

"Oh, now don't do that – you'll get massive headaches all the time," somebody said, making her fling her hand to her back pocket, where she usually kept her wand, except she hadn't stuck it there yet. Instead of cursing this stranger all the way to Australia, she was staring blankly at him as he stood from her couch.

He was tall, just like all of her other friends, with dark brown hair that was tugged this way and that. He was dressed rather oddly, with a brown trench coat and a suit underneath, red Converse on his feet.

"Who are you?" she asked, taking a step back when he took a step forward, her eyes darting around for her wand. _Where did she leave it anyway?_

"The Doctor," he said simply with a shrug, examining a picture of her and George on the wall, both of them making silly faces at the camera.

"What doctor?" she blinked, straightening up as she looked at him curiously, "Doctors don't make house calls anymore. And I didn't ask for any doctor anyway."

"Well not just _any_ doctor, no," he rolled his eyes and grinned at her, "But I don't think you asked for me either."

"Who are you?" she asked again, fiercely.

"I already told you – the Doctor," he snorted, "I do hope I don't have explain things to you multiple times often, this is getting tiresome."

She let out a growl before diving for her wand on the bookshelf in between them, raising her hand to get this stranger out of her apartment, but he'd already gotten out some weird mechanical device and her wand was in his grasp.

"_What are you?_" she asked rather quietly after a pause, although she didn't intend for it to come out so.

"I am from a planet called Gallifrey," he said, twisting and turning the wand in his hand, "But it's gone now."

"Alright," she said, blankly comprehending that an alien was in her living room. But he looked completely human, so... "Did Chess put you up to this?" she bristled at the thought, "Ohh, Chess, I'm going to wring your little neck, you bloody bast – "

"I don't know any Chess besides the game," he said, offering her wand back.

She took it back warily, staring up at him, "What did you say your name was again?"

He gripped her shoulders quickly, making her gasp as he lowered himself to her eyelevel and looked into her eyes, an eyebrow arched and a small smile on his face, "Think. About. It."

She stared into his brown eyes as he stared into hers, "The…Doctor?"

"_Now_ we're getting somewhere!" he stepped back, grinning down at her, "I was beginning to wonder why everybody called you the brightest witch of your generation!"

"Wait – what?" she was following him into her kitchen area, "How do you know that?"

"Oh, it's on your file at work," he said as he opened up a cabinet, closing it once he found nothing he wanted to eat and moved on to the next one. "Do you have any custard? Fish fingers, perhaps?"

"Wait, wait, you read my _file_?" she was blinking an insane amount of times.

"Hermione Jean Granger, born September nineteenth of nineteen eighty-one, fought alongside Harry James Potter and Ronald Bilius Weasley in the Second Wizarding War, didn't graduate Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but was nominated top of her class by the remaining Gryffindors – prefect, would've been a shoe-in for Head Girl if she hadn't had left. Muggleborn, parents' memories Obliviated into thinking they were Wendell and Monica Wilkins and sent to Australia before she, Harry and Ron went hunting for Horcruxes…" he trailed off, turning to her from the open cabinet and smiling, "Yes, I read your file. Nice picture in it, by the way, big bushy hair and those teeth. Very adorable."

"What do you _want_ from me?" she questioned, her hands tightening into fists as he pulled out a drawer from her fridge and frowned down at it before holding up a green fruit.

"Pears," he said simply before turning and throwing it out of the open window, "I _hate pears_."

"Okay, but that really wasn't a reason to go throwing them out of the window!" she found herself yelling at him. In all honesty, she really rather hated pears as well and only bought them because Ron would eat anything and everything and she needed some food substance there that she hated and wouldn't miss.

"What I want from you, Miss Granger – Hermione – is simple," he said, shutting her fridge door and crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to her.

"Yes?" she prompted.

"You can either sit here, going through the torture known as working at the Ministry of Magic day in and day out, never getting farther on with your life besides getting a cat or two, or you can come with me," he said simply.

She brought her chin up, her eyes flashing at him, "And how do you know what my life will be like? I barely even know you!"

"But I've seen it," he said, "I've gone into the future and saw that you're going to end up shriveling up on that couch and dying with nobody there to see it firsthand, nobody to hold your hand as you slip away."

Hermione immediately crossed her arms over her chest, but said nothing, refusing to let that image – that probably true image – get to her.

"Come with me, and it'll all be different," he said.

She stared at him as he stared back before hissing out, "Why should I trust you?"

"Because," he offered a hand to her, offered an escape, "I'm the Doctor."


	3. Wild Eyed

Chess had noticed something…odd about her. I mean, not that there wasn't anything odd about her usually, but it was an unusually different type of odd. She kept biting her lip and glancing about her, as if something would pop up and scare her half to death. He'd halfway wondered if she knew something that he didn't, like Voldemort being back. But she was fidgety, and not in the "I'm-prepared-for-battle-at-any-moment" type of fidgety, but just in a nervous sort of fidgety.

"Hermione," he said softly, making her gasp and jump up from her seat, "Are you…alright?"

"Fine, fine," she said dismissively, "Never been better."

Once she caught sight of his arched eyebrow and disbelieving expression, she sighed and slumped forward on her desk, "Do you think I should go?"

"Go where, exactly?" he questioned, "If it's Paris, sure, take me with you. But if it's, like, I dunno, a coven of vampires, then hell no."

She smiled tiredly up at him, looking over at his shaggy dark purple hair with pink tips on the ends. His yellow cat shaped eyes watched her face, awaiting her comeback. The first time she'd met her partner, she'd sucked in a breath to keep her mouth shut as her eyes grew. She hadn't spoken to him at all that first day, making him purse his lips and frown at her. As the day drew to a close, he slammed his hands on her desk and glared at her.

"Alright, what is your _problem_ with me?" he'd ordered.

She'd bitten her lip and grinned, the smile spreading on her face before she began to laugh, "You look like the Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, and I've been dying trying not to tell you so all day!"

He'd stood there, blinking at her before sighing with a grin, "And here I thought you hated me!"

And so they were friends, and Chess's real first name had been thrown out the window, making her wonder vaguely at night what it really was. As soon as she stepped foot into the same room as him, she'd grin and wonder instead why his parents hadn't named him Chess in the first place.

"Hermione," he called her attention again, using the tone of voice reserved for when he'd tried to weasel information out of his younger sister at Hogwarts. It hadn't been used since he'd met Hermione, actually, but she was putting it into good use now. "Tell me what's going on."

Hermione looked up into his yellow eyes, biting her lip for probably the hundredth time before grabbing his wrist and towing him away.

* * *

Chess was sitting on the floor of the broom closet, elbows on knees and head in hands as Hermione anxiously awaited his response.

"He's given you two days to think it over," he repeated, finally looking up at her.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Hermione, what makes you think he isn't some crazy – some crazy _wackadoo_ who just wanted to give you a scare?" Chess questioned, still on the floor as he blinked up at her.

"He got into the police box, Chess," she said simply, a few shades paler.

"What?" he asked, wondering if maybe wackadoo-itis wasn't contagious and she'd caught a particularly strong case of it.

"The police box I said was on my neighbor's roof a few nights ago?" Her eyes were wide, "He got into it and disappeared."

"So he's some weird wizard," Chess threw his hands in the air before tugging himself onto his feet, "Hermione, do you really want to give up your job, no matter how much we both hate it, to go to some _nutcase_?"

She bit her lip, looking down at the floorboards, wringing her hands.

He sighed, holding her shoulders, "Look, don't worry about it. Ask him for proof when – _if_ – he comes back. If it's legit, you can go with my blessing. Just send postcards from wherever."

She smiled at him, "Alright. Thanks, Chess."

"Anytime, Love," he smiled warmly back at her before loosening his tie and mussing up his hair before attacking hers. At her confused look, he grinned and winked before stumbling out of the closet, panting a few times as his coworkers looked at him and the ruffled Hermione. They would've bought it, maybe, if she wasn't rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him as she fixed her hair.

"And this is the idiot I get my advice from," she muttered to herself before fixing her skirt and walking off after her colleague.

* * *

**Before we launch into the Who-niverse, I've got to ask if I should add in Chess as a companion now, later, or never. So…thoughts? Feelings? Contemplations of why, exactly, you're reading this story?**

**Oh, also, if anybody knows a good website to find most of the 10th Doctor's episodes – _please share._ **

**Thanks **

**- Ava**


	4. Amaze and Amuse

**Hey, so – ahh – I was wondering how many people would get terribly offended if I used some of the 11th Doctor's "adventures" in this – 'cause I really want Hermione to not have to blink and be very mad about it (and I don't know if the Tenth meets them or not), and I really want her to get into a very in-depth conversation with Van Gogh and leave the Doctor to brew in jealousy. So, think about it, and let me know. (Although if I feel like it I will eventually ignore you lot and do it anyway. *shrug* I _am_ the author, after all.)**

* * *

She was running her hands through her hair, biting her lip as her eyes darted around her apartment. It was time, wasn't it? Wasn't today her deadline? She hated that word, on second thought. It had the word 'dead' in it, making it sound so much nastier than it probably was. Although, in this sense, it really did fit.

She looked down at her converse. They'd been with her since she was fifteen. They'd practically been through Hell and back. She smoothed down her blue tank top, which was underneath the jean jacket that stopped at the end of her ribcage.

"He's lying – he's got to be," she murmured distractedly to herself as she rearranged the books on her shelf, glancing back at her room to make sure she'd picked everything up.

"What makes you think I am?" he asked, making her whirl around and blink at him, as she hadn't seen him come in or heard any sign of Apparation. Just as quickly as he'd come, she whipped out her wand and aimed it at his throat, her eyes narrowed, but he only smiled slightly and waited patiently for her answer.

"Tell me why I should trust you about any of this," she said, her brown eyes flashing, "Give me some sort of proof that you aren't some – some _madman_."

"Oh, but I am a madman," he smiled, "But if you do want proof, I'll give it."

He plucked her wand out of her hand, stuffing it in his back pocket and grabbing her wrist to tow her to her balcony, which rested in the opposite direction of her room. He opened the door and ushered her outside, the wind blowing her curls around as she looked around warily before he helped her across the way to her neighbor's roof, where she once again saw the Police Box.

He pulled out a key, unlocking the door and opening it for her with a flourish, obviously proud of whatever it was he was about to show her. She stepped inside warily and gaped just a little before hiding her shock – she wasn't some silly _Muggle_, she shouldn't be acting like this simply because it was much, _much_ bigger on the inside.

"Well?" he asked as he shut the door.

She shrugged dully, "I've seen bigger." A lie.

He glared at her slightly for that before walking over to the most complicated thing she'd ever seen in her life, although he worked it like it was a simple toy. He then led her back to the door, instructing her to hold onto the frame before opening it up, grinning as she gasped at the stars right in front of her. It didn't seem real. It couldn't have been. No magic could've possibly….

"You're real," she whispered, looking up at him in amazement as he looked down at her in amusement.

* * *

Chess bit his lower lip, looking up once more before sighing and setting back down in his seat, looking glumly at his desk.

"Hey, Chess – where's Hermione? She called in sick?" some nameless person asked on his way to his own desk.

Chess sighed, glancing over at her empty desk before answering, "No. She's not coming back." He pouted, slumping lower in his seat as whoever it was walked off. He sighed again, smiling a little, "Hope you have fun wherever you are, Hermione." He started when his boss dropped paperwork on his desk, some of which was already for looking for a new partner. "'Cause I sure as bollocks won't."

* * *

**…*shrug***

**- Ava**


	5. Let the Adventure Begin

_Holy Mother of Merlin, this is really happening, I'm not dreaming all of this up, of course why would I be dreaming about him, he's relatively annoying, though not as annoying as he could be, I mean he took me to great big bloody _Rome_ for Godric's sake, if I knew him that well I might just kiss him if it wouldn't be too weird, actually no I wouldn't kiss him, he'd be terribly smug about it_ –

"Hermione," the Doctor interrupted her inner monologue with a grin, "Just say thank you."

She looked up at him, a grin spreading slowly across her face before she hugged his arm quickly – she was actually a very hug-y person, he'd have to learn that eventually, "Thank you so very much."

He chuckled, "You're welcome. I really do like Rome, though. Lots of history. Well, there will be more, of course, but still."

"It's so – _Roman_ and it's beautiful and – " Hermione stopped in her walk, making the Doctor look at her curiously, "That sign's in English."

"That's the TARDIS translation circuit – it makes it _look_ like English," he explained, "Right now you're speaking Latin."

"Ahh," she said as they continued to maneuver their way through the people, "So if I said something in actual Latin, what would happen?"

He shrugged, "I don't really know, but you ask an awful lot of questions."

She huffed up at him, frowning as he grinned but looked at a nearby cart. She'd heard it a lot, of course, when she was younger, often being teased about it, but she hadn't been reminded of it since she'd gotten out of the War. But he didn't seem too mean about it, like the kids had been; he actually seemed more amused by it.

"Go try it," he said, motioning to the nearest vender.

She blinked at him before shrugging and stepping rather shyly up to the vender.

"What can I do for you, Love?" he asked.

"Ahh - _magna est vis consuetudinis_," Hermione smiled as the Doctor stepped up beside her.

The vender looked at a loss, "I'm sorry?"

Hermione blinked back at him, "_Magna est vis consuetudinis?_"

He only blinked at her before saying slowly, "_I don't speak Celtic._"

"Celtic?" she scoffed to the Doctor, "That was Latin!"

"What was it?" he questioned.

"'Great is the power of habit.' My grandmother would tell me that all the time," she snorted again, "Celtic."

"Well you sounded rather Welsh," the Doctor shrugged before leading her away down the street, the two unaware that a woman in red robes was looking after them as they left before finally following behind them.

She followed them closely, but not close enough to be spotted or hear all of what they were saying. She heard something about him not starting a fire before the two turned a corner and stopped, staring straight ahead of them before the woman turned to the man.

"Aren't there supposed to be seven hills in Rome?" she asked in amusement as the man pursed his lips and stared resolutely at the horizon. "How come there's only one, _Doctor_?"

He opened his mouth to say something to her, but was stopped when the ground began shaking underneath them, the woman holding onto the man's arm as he gripped her into him. Neither were sturdy bases, so they both fell, the man wincing when he cut his hand on a fragment of a chipped pot.

He quickly picked it out of his skin and offered his hand to the woman, who pulled out a stick and whispered something before slipping it back into her jacket. When the man stood up and offered his hand to the woman, the skin was completely healed.

"One mountain with smoke," the Doctor said as Hermione watched as the people laughed over the ordeal, picking up whatever was broken and going on about their day. "That means it's – "

"Pompeii," Hermione blinked up at him as his eyebrows shot up, staring back down at her, "We're in _Pompeii_."

"And it's Volcano Day."

* * *

"You're barmy, absolutely barmy! I don't know why I ever agreed to come with you!" Hermione shouted at the Doctor as they ran through the streets of Pompeii, trying to get back to the TARDIS so they could escape.

"You have to admit – adventure this quick!" he shouted back, glancing over his shoulder before reaching out and grabbing her wrist, instantly making her run faster.

Hermione probably should've felt offended, but knew that he had a very good point. He had longer legs, and she was short. _Case closed, end of story, now keep _focused_, Granger, you nearly tripped over that pot._

"Where's the TARDIS?" the Doctor gaped as he flung back the curtain that had originally concealed his beloved blue box, only to find that it wasn't there.

"You're kidding me," Hermione breathed, feeling her pulse quicken in fear. "Oh, please tell me this is somebody else's idea of a very cruel joke."

The Doctor was already turning towards a nearby merchant, looking and sounding very frantic, which made Hermione's nerves stand on edge, "'Scuse me, 'scuse me! There was a box, big blue box, big blue wooden box, just over there!" He paused, looking at the man with wide eyes, "Where's it gone?"

The man grinned and looked very proud of himself, "Sold it."

The Doctor looked horrified as Hermione stepped in front of him and gaped at the merchant, "But it wasn't _yours_ to sell!"

"Who'd you sell it to?" the Doctor demanded incredulously, wondering why anybody would want to buy his TARDIS if they didn't know it was the TARDIS.

The merchant looked aggravated and bored with them, "Look, if you want to argue with somebody, take it up with him. He's on Fourth Street, big house, can't miss it."

"Thanks!" the Doctor said before grabbing Hermione's hand again and springing them into motion. Hermione gasped as she collided into the Doctor's back before he ran back to the merchant once more, "What did he want a big blue wooden box for?"

The merchant shrugged, "He called it art."

"_Art?_" the Doctor scoffed, jogging back to Hermione as he shook his head, "That goes right up there with 'Celtic.'"

"Pretty offending, isn't it?" Hermione quipped with a smirk, to which he glared at. "So what are we going to do?"

"Hopefully just barge in there and get it back," the Doctor replied, once again grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

"What?" she blinked, "No, I mean with the people."

"What do you mean with the people?" he looked at her curiously.

"How are we going to evacuate them?"

He kept the curious expression, but stopped in their walk and released her hand to face her, feeling a bit of a fight coming on, "We aren't."

"What? But – you said you saved people."

"Not Pompeii – Pompeii is a fixed point in history. I can't go messing around with it."

"Says who?" she practically yelled.

"Says me!"

"What, you're in charge?"

"TARDIS, Time Lord, yeah!"

"Hermione, human, no!" she quipped back. A brief thought of '_what the bloody hell is a Time Lord?_' flashed through her noggin, but she ignored it. She got a few strange looks from nearby citizens, but ignored them as well as she put her hands on her hips, "I don't see why we can't save them. Besides, I don't need your permission, I can help them myself."

She turned away from him, ready to go save Pompeii, when he called out and stopped her, "You pull that wand out and you're dead. Despite all of that 'Seer' stuff that's still in your time, they won't agree with a witch bossing them around. Now come on – we're getting out of here." He reached forward – when did he get so close? – and grabbed her arm this time to drag her along beside him. They ran on, not giving any notice to a woman in red robes, who watched them leave.

* * *

"Positions!" was what greeted the Doctor and Hermione as they ran into the house, the Doctor darting forward to save a bust from falling, turning to grin at the man who presumably owned the bust.

The Doctor patted the bust's face once the tremors stopped, "There we go!"

The man smiled back, "Thank you, kind sir, but I'm afraid business is closed for today. I'm expecting a visitor."

"Oh, well that's me!" the Doctor said quickly, making Hermione turn and blink up at him from examining the bust. "I'm the visitor – hello!" He reached forward and patted the man's hand, who looked at him in confusion.

"Who are you?" the man asked, following the Doctor as he went around to hunt for his TARDIS, Hermione stepping gingerly down the steps to survey the room, attracting curious looks from what had to be the man's wife and daughter. The son, who was lounging on the edge of a reflecting pool, seemed minimally interested in her or the Doctor. Hermione flashed them all a sheepish grin before slowly making her way back to the Doctor.

"I am…Spartacus," the Doctor lied as Hermione appeared at his side – _such a good girl, not getting lost_, he noted – still smiling at the man who had bought his TARDIS. He turned to Hermione, who seemed at a loss for words.

"And so am I," she concluded, making the Doctor tilt his head at her and wonder how anybody could've thought she was the smartest witch of her generation.

"Mister and Missus Spartacus, I – " the man began, Hermione's eyes growing.

"Oh, no, no, we're not – " Hermione began before she felt the Doctor's hand in hers, squeezing just a little _too_ tightly to get her to shut up.

"Oh yes, we are, Sweetheart, remember we got married this morning?" he questioned, a teasing glint in his eyes as she got a murderous glint in hers.

"Oh yes – how silly of me to forget, _Darling_," she all but growled, making him grin down at her. _Oh, I hate you_, she tried to tell him silently, but his attention was back on the man.

"Oh, well congratulations!" the man smiled broadly before deflating a little, "I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade."

"And that trade would be…?" the Doctor prompted, craning his head to look for his TARDIS. Hermione wondered why he'd have to do that, as he was already bloody tall enough. _Merlin, I hate being short. I only come up to his shoulder._

"Marble," he said before straightening himself proudly, "I am Caecilius. I work with the mining, polishing and design – if you want marble, I'm your man."

"That's good, that's good," the Doctor said distractedly before showing him a blank piece of paper, "Because I'm a marble inspector." The Doctor maneuvered himself around Caecilius and Hermione smiled bashfully at him before following her "husband." She'd have to figure out a way to pay him back for that one.

"By the gods, an inspection," Caecilius's wife said, looking rather worried. She turned to her son, who was taking a drink of something and promptly took it away, pouring the wine into the reflecting pool, "I'm sorry, sir, I _do_ apologize for my son."

Her son started to protest when Caecilius interrupted, "This is my wife, Metella, and I must confess that we're not prepared for – "

"No need to worry," the Doctor shook his head before blinking when he caught sight of the TARDIS, "I'm sure you've got nothing to hide, although _that_ –" he pointed, making Hermione light up a little, " – that is something that will need to be looked over, don't you think so, dear?"

"Absolutely," Hermione agreed, following him towards the TARDIS.

"I told you to get rid of it," Metella hissed to her husband as he walked up to the Doctor.

"I only bought it today," Caecilius explained rather nervously.

"Ahh, _caveat emptor_," the Doctor shrugged and grimaced.

Caecilius blinked, "You're Celtic? That's lovely."

The Doctor ignored this as Hermione pursed her lips, "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, but I _might_ have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

"Although while we're here," Hermione began with a warm smile at the couple, which immediately made the Doctor wary, "Perhaps you could take a holiday while you wait for our results? I hear Rome is very lovely."

The Doctor frowned, "We're not to intervene, Spartacus."

"But it's such a lovely family," she turned her big doe eyes on him, which she only ever used as a very last resort, "They deserve a holiday. Mother and father and son – don't you think they should get out of town?"

"And why should we do that?" Caecilius asked skeptically.

"Well the volcano, for starters," she said before the Doctor could stop her.

"What?" he questioned.

"The volcano," she repeated earnestly.

"What-ano?"

"That great big one on your doorstep," she replied, eyebrows arched.

The Doctor was itching to slap his hands over her mouth and pull her in the TARDIS, witnesses be damned.

"Oh, Spartacus, for shame – we haven't even paid our respects to the household gods," the Doctor interrupted, pulling her away by her shoulders and grinning at Caecilius and Metella, "It's been a very hectic morning – lots of wine, you understand." The Doctor lead her to what appeared to be a mantle although no fireplace was underneath it, and dipped his hand in a bowl of water, instructing her to do the same as he frowned at her, splashing the water on the mantle. "What did I tell you?"

"Oh please, what about them?" she whispered, biting her lip, "What did they do to die in a pile of molten rock?"

"Hermione, _shut up_," he glared at her, making her glare back.

"That boy – what is he? – sixteen? He's sixteen, he'll never grow up, get a job, get a wife, have kids, have grandkids – are you telling me you don't care about that? You don't care that tomorrow, he'll burn to death?" she asked, incredulously.

The Doctor only frowned at her before turning away, back towards Caecilius and Metella.

"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Order of the city government!" a voice called, making Hermione whirl around and look for the pale blonde hair and permanent scowl, only to remind herself that – in this time – Lucius was probably a common name. Although now the name had been tainted completely for her, it was still a name that could be given to very nice people. Although she highly doubted it.

In walked a man with graying hair, a scowl on his face to rival the one of Lucius Malfoy's, a cloak covering his entire upper torso except for an arm. _Well, lookie there,_ Hermione thought with an inward smile, _I was right after all._

"Lucius!" Caecilius said eagerly, "A pleasure as always!"

The Doctor was motioning with his head for Hermione to follow him to the TARDIS, slowly making his way there as she nonchalantly followed. Metella was ordering her son, Quintus, to stand, him doing so reluctantly.

"Thank you so much for coming to my house," Caecilius said as the Doctor once again grabbed Hermione's hand and began to tiptoe with her to the TARDIS, still hoping to go unnoticed.

"The birds are flying north," Lucius replied, "And the wind is in the west."

Caecilius looked confused by this before nodding his head, "Right, absolutely. That's good, is it?"

Hermione and the Doctor exchanged curious glances, their lips twitching in amusement.

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

_He's a fortune cookie,_ Hermione grinned, looking up at the Doctor as he tilted his head at Lucius.

"Metella, have you ever heard such wisdom?" Caecilius asked his wife, drawing her closer.

"Never," Metella admitted, smiling at Lucius as she curtseyed, "It's an honor."

Caecilius looked up and blinked at the Doctor and Hermione, "Oh, pardon me, sir, I have guests. This is Mister and Missus Spartacus."

Hermione and the Doctor waved as they stepped forward, although the Doctor kept a grip on her elbow, obviously ready to leave.

"Your name is but a cloud upon a summer wind," Lucius said.

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark," the Doctor countered. Hermione suddenly felt very lost in this conversation.

"Ahh!" Lucius stepped forward, still frowning at them. Hermione found herself reaching for the Doctor's hand, more out of comfort as she did _not_ like the look in his eyes, "But what is the dark, other than an ovum of the sun?"

The Doctor twined their fingers together without taking his eyes off Lucius, "I can see that every sun must set – "

Lucius released a triumphant laugh, "Ha!"

" – and yet the son of the father must also rise."

Lucius was still frowning, "Very clever, sir. Evidently a man of learning."

"Oh _yes_, but don't mind me, don't want to disturb the status quo," the Doctor grinned as Caecilius whispered 'Celtic' to Lucius, "We were just about to leave." He then began to lead Hermione away as she shot a very sad look to Quintus, who got it and looked at her curiously.

"But – " Hermione began.

"We've got to go," the Doctor urged. Hermione sighed, frowning as they got closer to the TARDIS.

Caecilius was talking behind them, "The moment of revelation."

This caught the Doctor's interest, as he glanced behind him to watch as he took a red cloth off of something. The sight of it made him stop, Hermione bumping into his back once more. She frowned at him and turned back to see what appeared to be a circuit board made out of marble.

"Does this please you, sir?" Caecilius asked worriedly.

"As the rain pleases the soil," Lucius replied.

"Oh, now that's…different," the Doctor said, abandoning Hermione by the TARDIS as he stepped forward, frowning at the marble, "And who designed that then?"

"My lord Lucius was very specific," Caecilius replied.

"Where'd you get that pattern?" the Doctor asked.

"On the rain and mist of wind," Lucius frowned at him.

"Well that looks like a circuit," Hermione murmured, mostly to the Doctor, although she was vaguely aware that everybody else heard it too. "Do you mean you just…" she faltered as she looked up at Lucius before continuing, "Dreamt that up?"

"That is my job," he said quickly, "As city oracle."

"What's that, then, like a mayor?" Hermione asked.

The Doctor opened his mouth before releasing a rather nervous laugh, "Oh, heh, little sleep, lotta wine, huh? You must excuse my wife, she's had a busy day today."

She shot a quick glare up at him, reminding him that she did not appreciate being known as his 'wife,' to which he shot a quick smirk down at her before he turned them away and began to explain to her.

"Remember, Darling, this is an age of superstition, of _official_ superstition, an oracle is paid by the city to tell the future," he smiled, "I thought you were the brightest of your generation?"

She huffed up at him, making him grin wider.

"They're laughing at us," a young woman said as she stepped into the room. Hermione then remembered that she'd seen her when she first walked in.

Everybody turned to her and the Doctor, which made her grip his hand once more as he sought hers out. _Merlin, what's with me? I brought down Death Eaters and here I am looking for the man's hand for ease of mind. Then again, he did say they don't like witches too much…._

"Those two," the girl stepped closer. She was very pale with bags under her eyes. Hermione's "Internal Molly Weasley" wanted to make her go take a nap until she looked like she wasn't about to pass out. "They use words like tricksters, they're mocking us."

The Doctor looked back at his TARDIS, once more wondering if he could get away with dragging Hermione in there and leaving.

"No, not us, no offense," the Doctor reassured everybody else in the room.

"I'm sorry," Metella rushed to her daughter, grinning a little sheepishly, "My daughter's been consuming the vapors."

"The gods, Mother, what have you been doing to her?" Quintus asked, looking every bit as the protective older brother. It made her think of Harry just a bit.

"Not now!" Caecilius barked at his son.

"She's sick, just look at her!" Quintus turned back to glare at his father. Yup, Harry.

"I gather I have a rival in this household," Lucius stepped towards Metella and the girl. "Another with the Gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood," Metella smiled, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulders, "They say she has remarkable visions."

"The prophecies of women are limited and null," Lucius countered, making Hermione frown at him and have the Doctor pull her back behind him. _I just _had _to pick a stubborn companion_, he thought to himself as she frowned up at him. _Ah well, she's entertaining._

"Only men folk have the capacity for true conception," Lucius continued, making Hermione roll her eyes and attempt to speak up, which in turn made the Doctor release her hand and cradle the back of her head as his other hand slapped over her mouth. She glared at him as he grinned at her. _Yes, she's very entertaining._

Tremors shook the ground, which had Lucius frowning at Hermione again.

"The mountain gods mark your unspoken words," he said, making Hermione roll her eyes again. "I'd be careful if I were you."

"What's this about the vapors?" the Doctor asked, turning to the girl as she practically leaned against her mother.

"They give me strength," she said.

"Doesn't seem like it to me."

"Well that's your opinion," she said before getting off of her mother, "As a doctor."

Hermione felt the Doctor's hand behind her head freeze and the one over mouth relax and slip off as he stared at the girl.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked as Hermione reached up and took his hand again, gripping it once more.

"'Doctor,' that's your name," she said, looking between him and Hermione.

"How did you know that?" he questioned as Hermione's other hand gripped his arm, holding him close to her.

"And you," she turned to Hermione and ignored the Doctor now, "Others have said you have dirty blood. The word has even marred you." Hermione gripped the Doctor's arm tighter, digging her nails into his jacket as she conveyed how freaked out she was. But of course he wouldn't know. She would _never_ let him know.

"Evelina, don't be rude," Metella insisted rather softly, looking up at the Doctor and Hermione as the ground shook again.

"No, no, no, no, let her talk," the Doctor said softly, his free hand gripping Hermione's, his eyebrows furrowing a little as he wondered what Evelina meant about his new companion. Whatever it was wasn't in her file, he knew that much.

"You both come from so far away," Evelina continued, swaying with her mother.

"The female soothsayer is trying to invent all sorts of fables," Lucius frowned.

"Oh, not this time, Lucius," Hermione spoke up, stepping away from the Doctor so that she wasn't within arm's reach, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked at Evelina. "I believe you've been out-soothsayed." She tilted her head, making the girl tilt hers as well, "Where is it?"

"Your left inner arm," Evelina answered.

Her thumb smoothed down the word _Mudblood_ through her jacket, the scar still raised on her skin no matter how many years it'd been there. Even then, it was still far too many.

Hermione nodded, giving her a sad little smile as she stepped back, even then away from the Doctor.

"Man from Gallifrey," Lucius spoke up, making the Doctor and Hermione turn to him, "Should you choose one of dirty blood to accompany you?"

_Godric's ghost, you must be the ancestor for Lucius Malfoy_, Hermione thought, _Well, if you weren't going to die tomorrow, that is._

The Doctor stared at Lucius, frowning back at him, "I've already chosen."

"Strangest of images," Lucius acted as though he hadn't heard what the Doctor had said, "Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"

_Well, looks like Hermione isn't the only one of the duo keeping secrets_, the Doctor admitted to himself, glancing back at her to see that she was confused.

"Doctor?" she asked rather quietly, "What're they doing?"

"You," Lucius turned to Hermione, "Daughter of London – "

"Doctor, how does he know that?" she sounded frantic.

"This is the Gift of Pompeii," Lucius told her, "Every single Oracle tells the truth."

Hermione only opened her mouth before shutting it, gripping her arms tighter as she attempted to melt into the background.

"Doctor," Lucius turned to him with a smirk – _oh my Merlin, you must be Lucius Malfoy's role model or something_ – "She is returning."

"Who's 'she'?" the Doctor asked, an eyebrow arched.

"And you, daughter of London, there is something on your back."

"What?" she asked, sounding very frightened.

"Even the word 'doctor' is false," Evelina said, stepping away from her mother, "Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars in the cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, sir. A lord of time."

Evelina, stepping back, halfway to her mother and next to Hermione, then promptly fainted.

* * *

**We'll just end that there because **_**oh my god it was so long and that was even when I deleted the Sibylline's scenes and oh my god so many pages I think it's somewhere around thirty-two so many pages so many words I can't I can't I can't – **_

**Anyway - ! If you're wondering why Hermione and the Doctor keep holding hands – Hermione is in some weird place with some weird volcano and all of these people scrutinizing her. She needs to have a sense of security. The Doctor, sometimes, provides that. Other times the Doctor just needs a little bit of comfort too. Even he gets a little freaked out when they start going all "Man of Gallifrey" on him. And Hermione is also a head shorter than him – he can't go losing his new companion, now can he?**

**I also love this episode. I love Donna Noble to pieces. "TARDIS, Time Lord, yeah!" "Donna, human, no!" **

**Just think of the end of this chapter as a really really **_**really**_** long commercial. :)**

**Love,**

**Ava**


	6. NonRefundable

**To the reviewer who told me that Hermione seemed too much like Donna last chapter – sorry, and thanks for telling me. I'll try to fix it in this one. **

**Oh, and did you know that if you set the zoom to 50% on Microsoft Word, you get like, three or more pages at once? I never knew that until I started to work on this. :D**

* * *

Metella passed the fabric to Hermione, who assumed it was a blanket for Evelina, who was lying in her bed, passed out and pale, "She didn't mean to be rude. She's always such a good girl, and the gods…well, they speak through her. She can't help what she says."

"It's fine," Hermione reassured, unfolding the fabric and blinking when it turned out to be a dress. She scrunched it up and held it behind her back, "I've heard far worse."

"Yes," Metella glanced at her arm, "It seems so." She bit her lip, unraveling a bandage on Evelina's arm, "Maybe you can help. We bathe it in olive oil every night, but it doesn't seem to be getting better. Please, please help my daughter."

The desperation in her voice made Hermione crack, rushing over to kneel next to Evelina's sleeping form. It would be completely useless, unless Metella wouldn't freak out if she got out her wand. Even then, what could she do?

Knocking on the doorframe made them look up, her frowning at the Doctor as he shifted from foot to foot.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

Hermione stood, walking over to him and punching him squarely in the shoulder. He gaped at her and held it as she crossed her arms and frowned at him.

"You know what that was for and you know you bloody well deserve it, so don't even try yelling at me for it!" she said, glaring up at him as he shut his mouth and frowned at her.

"Fine. Maybe I'll just dump you off somewhere."

"It'll still be better than being your ruddy wife!" she called out after him as he left. She shut the curtain that was used as a door and glared at it before turning back to Metella, who was smiling up at her. She could've slapped herself for what that must've sounded like. "I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything to help her. I've never really seen anything like it before."

Metella sighed, folding a thin sheet over Evelina and smoothing the hair back from her face. "Yes, well…thank you for trying." She looked back up at Hermione and frowned, "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"Dressed?" Hermione blinked back.

"You can't go running around in…" she shot a wary glance at Hermione's jeans and shoes, "Those. I think you and Evelina might wear the same sized shoes. I'll go check – and when I get back, I expect you to be dressed."

Hermione opened her mouth to stutter a few objections, but was left standing there, watching as the curtain shut. She glanced at the dress and sighed, glancing at Evelina to make sure she was asleep before pulling out her wand, adding a small pocket to the dress before shoving her jacket in there. She did the same to the rest of her clothing, shoving her shoes and socks in it as well before pulling the peachy colored material over her head.

"At least they're not fans of corsets, Hermione, remember that," she muttered to herself as she stowed away her wand in her hair.

Metella, by that time, had returned and was smiling at her as she handed over the brown roman sandals. Hermione smiled back and sat on the table, slipping her feet in place and wincing when she realized that she had absolutely no idea how to tie these. But Metella reached down and did so quickly, leaving Hermione to look down at her feet as Metella stood and offered Hermione a skin-colored paste.

"What is this?" she asked, curious as to whether she was supposed to eat it or what.

"Make-up," she answered, "The Sisterhood gave us some to cover Evelina's…blemish when it was small. For your arm."

Hermione glanced back at her arm and noticed that her scar was visible in the dress. She dabbed her fingers into the paste and spread it over, smiling when the 'M' disappeared, "Brilliant, thank you."

"I suspect you do not want your husband to know just yet."

Hermione blinked, "My what?" She then frowned, before wincing at Metella, "Ahh, we're not really married. He just said that."

Metella blinked, her eyebrows arched, "Really? I wouldn't have suspected. You go so well together."

Hermione let the snort escape before she could stop it, "I don't believe that."

"What a man says without thinking is sometimes the truth," she told her, smirking at her surprised expression.

Evelina stirred, her eyes flitting open, "Mother?"

"Oh, Evelina," Metella rushed to her daughter's side, pressing her hand to her forehead, "Are you alright? How do you feel?"

Evelina groaned, closing her eyes again, "Sick."

Hermione stood, biting her lip, "I'll just…go outside, get some air."

Metella nodded absentmindedly, worrying over her daughter.

Hermione went through the curtain and sighed, making her way warily through the house, keeping an eye out for the Doctor. She was going to have to talk to him, and before they left too. This family simply couldn't die the way they were meant to.

She stepped out onto what we'll call a porch and smiled up at the stars, "They look so pretty without lights washing them out." She searched for a star and stared up at it once she found it.

"_If we ever feel alone," Harry whispered, his back resting against Hermione's bunk in the tent, her doing the same, "We'll find the Dog Star. It's the family star."_

_Hermione smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Alright, Harry." A comfortable pause settled over the two before she nudged him, "Does this make you my big brother?"_

_He chuckled and nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "I thought I always was."_

_She smiled wider and hugged him back._

Hermione sighed, looking sadly at the star before gasping when somebody wrapped a cloth around her mouth. She inhaled to scream but instantly wobbled on her legs, her brain becoming foggy until she finally fell. The last thing she remembered seeing was red robes swishing around her.

* * *

"What is that? What's that noise?" Metella asked as she and Evelina ran into the entry room, Caecilius doing the same as the Doctor and Quintus ran in as well.

"Doctor, what is it?" Caecilius asked as the Doctor spun around in one spot, looking for something.

"We're being followed, footsteps underground," he turned more before turning to Metella, "Where's Hermione, where is she?"

"She went to get some air – what's following you?" Metella asked, screaming when the grate of the fire pit flew off, the siding crumbling as a big fiery stone monster stepped out of it.

"The gods are among us," one of the family's servants said before stepping forward, "Blessed are we to have the gods visit us!" The servant then was turned into a pile of ash, forcing the Doctor to step forward and draw the monster's attention onto him.

"Hey, look at me, not them, tell me who you are!" he yelled, hands up as if to stop any oncoming attack.

The monster made a strange hissing sound before Quintus splashed it with water. It began to crumble, the fire dying out as the stones fell to the floor. The Doctor stared at the stones before frowning and walking outside, looking around as he paced.

"Doctor, what was that?" Quintus asked as he and his family followed.

"Bits of rock held together with magma," he answered, still frowning, "Not the hardest to stop, but then again that was probably just a foot soldier. Where _are_ you, you silly girl? Missing out on something as big as this – _honestly_, I can't believe you - !" He was cut off as he was sent to the ground, the wind knocked out of him as Quintus and Caecilius grabbed his arms and helped him up. The Doctor looked down to see what had tripped him and gaped before lunging and picking up the stick with intricate familiar carvings, "Oh no. Oh no, oh no."

"What? What is it?" Quintus asked, looking curiously at the stick.

"This isn't good, she'd never leave this," the Doctor said, holding the wand protectively with both hands, "Hermione's been kidnapped." He counted only one feminine gasp, turning and frowning at Evelina, who had gone pale, "Do you know who took her?"

She gaped before shutting her mouth, "Mother was getting olive oil for my arm, I looked out the window and…."

"Who has her, Evelina?" the Doctor asked frantically.

"The Sibylline Sisterhood," she murmured, eyes downcast, "I thought I'd been hallucinating so I didn't…I'm sorry."

"Where's their temple?" the Doctor asked, eyes hardening.

"Men aren't supposed to enter," Evelina said.

"Yes, but your arm isn't supposed to be turning into stone, Hermione's not supposed to be gone and there aren't supposed to be monsters like _that _popping out of your fire pit," he frowned at her, "I don't think we're going to be taking too keenly with rules for a while, not until I get my companion back. Now _where_ is the _temple?_"

* * *

"Oh, you've _got_ to be _kidding me!_" Hermione bellowed, struggling against her restraints, "Most women never have to go through with this, and you're telling me I've got to do this _twice_ in only – what's it been – seven years? Oh that's so bloody stupid! I want a new yarn, Fates, you hear me? A new thread, now!"

The Sisterhood ignored her, one raising a sword, "The witch must surrender with her blood!"

"Oy, I've done that! Got the scar on my arm to prove it!" Hermione wriggled more frantically, practically growling at her captors, "And you know _what?_ I still didn't surrender! I won that bloody war and kicked so many arses – and I'll do the same to yours if you don't let – me – _GO!_"

"You will be silent," the sister with the sword frowned at her, as if annoyed that she wasn't getting to stab the woman on the table with her sword yet.

"Oh, good luck with that," the Doctor said, leaning casually against the mantle as the woman gaped at him – except Hermione, who rose her head up and glared at him before thunking it down on the table and huffing.

"No _man_ is allowed to enter the temple of the Sibylline!" the sister with the sword insisted as Hermione glanced at him dully and rolled her eyes at the woman, still struggling.

"Love, I don't think he follows rules too often," Hermione told her, making the Doctor grin down at her. She found herself fighting to not smile back as he walked past the sisters and stood up above her face.

"Too right. Love the dress," he said, reaching into his jacket and digging around.

"Why, you want to try it on?" she frowned, "I _still_ don't enjoy being your wife, you know."

"Oh, come now, Darling, we make an excellent pair," he said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver as Hermione snorted, "Now don't be like that. I could leave you on this table, you know."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, making him grin more as he pointed the screwdriver at her restraints. They popped off, making Hermione sigh as she sat up, smiling as she flung her legs over the side and jumped down.

"You know I knew Sybil," the Doctor said, frowning at the girls, "And she would be _ashamed_ of you. Is this how it comes about? Blood spilled on a knife?"

"Yes," the woman said, raising her sword, "And your blood will join the witch's as well."

"_Over_ my dead _body_, Sweetheart," Hermione stepped between the two, her hand reaching up into her hair. Her expression immediately changed, "Oh _shit_, where's my wand?"

"Ahem," the Doctor twirled it around in front of her face, making her blink and grab it back to point at the woman.

Before she could cast a spell, a raspy voice called behind a curtain, "Show me this man."

"Who, me?" the Doctor blinked at the curtain, pointing at his chest. Hermione snorted and turned around to look at him disbelievingly.

"High Priestess, the stranger will defy us!" the woman with the sword said as her sisters dropped to floor around her, heads bowed.

"Let me see him," the raspy voice demanded, "The witch as well."

"So they know?" the Doctor asked as Hermione tied her wand back up in her hair.

"You were right," she said in a clipped tone, "They really _don't_ like witches."

The Doctor made their way forward, pushing back the curtain to see a woman entirely made of stone, her legs crossed. There were no teeth in her mouth, no hair on her head, no whites to her eyes. Hermione gasped and reached for the Doctor's hand once more, hating how it was becoming such a common thing.

"What's happened to you?" Hermione fretted.

"The heavens have blessed me," the High Priestess answered.

The Doctor gently pulled himself out of Hermione's grasp, looking at the Priestess inquisitively, "If I might…."

She lifted her arm and he stepped forward, running his hands over hers, "Does it…hurt?"

"It is necessary," she gasped, looking as if it were difficult to breathe.

"Who told you that?" Hermione asked gently, taking a tentative step forward.

"The gods," she answered.

"Is that what's going to happen to Evelina?" she asked, already thinking of the girl and her mother. She turned to the woman who'd previously had the sword, as she was holding back her sleeve to show her that her arm was stone as well, "This is happening to all of you?"

"The people of Pompeii are turning into stone before the volcano," the Doctor said, stepping back from the High Priestess and moving back to Hermione.

"This word, this image in your mind, this…'volcano,'" the Priestess said, "What is that?"

"More importantly, why don't you know about it?" the Doctor asked. "Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibylline!" she shot back.

"No, no, I'm talking about the creature inside of you," he said, moving towards her, "The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, the dust in the lungs, taking over the flesh and turning it into…what?"

Hermione looked over at the Sword Sister, shrugging, "I'm so bloody lost." The Sister nodded and they turned back to the Doctor and the Priestess.

"Your knowledge…it is impossible!" she insisted.

"Oh, you can read my mind, you know it's not," he frowned, rolling his eyes, "Now why don't you tell me who you are?"

The voice coming out of the High Priestess was now raspy, and had a deeper tone underneath her normal one, sounding like it was screeching, "We are awakening!" The Priestess and the Sisters began to sway, chanting about something as Hermione stepped away from the Sword Sister and towards the Doctor.

"Still so bloody lost, but a little bit scared," she mumbled to him.

"Name yourself!" the Doctor demanded, "Planet of origin!"

"We – are – rising!" the High Priestess screeched.

"_Tell me your name!_"

The High Priestess flung off her hood, "Pyrovile!"

The Sisters then began to chant that, still swaying on the floor.

"Very lost," Hermione admitted to her toes, rubbing the back of her neck, "I hate being kidnapped, I miss out on everything exciting."

"She's a Pyrovile, or turning into one," the Doctor muttered to Hermione, "She's already half-started."

"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, _Doctor_," the High Priestess told him with a smile.

"I warn you," the Doctor said, pulling out a water pistol from his jacket and holding it with the most serious expression Hermione had ever seen him wear, "I'm armed!"

"Oh, you're barmy," Hermione shook her head as she took her wand out of her hair.

"Hermione, can you get the fire pit open?" the Doctor asked. She nodded and flicked her wand, the grate flying off in a wayward direction, the sound of a yowling cat marking that it had landed on the creature's tail. "Right, forgot, you can do that." He shook his head and turned back to the Priestess, "What are the Pyrovile doing here?"

"We fell from the Heavens," the Priestess said as she stood, "We fell so hard and so fast that some were turned into dust!"

"_Right_, stone breaks on impact," he looked thoughtful, "When was that, seventeen years ago?"

"Seventy-four thousand years," she answered.

"Alright, seventy thousand years ago you went ka-boom," he said as Hermione glanced at him, wondering if he'd completely fallen off his rocker when she was gone. "You're turning humans into Pyroviles to get back your empire – but why the psychic powers?"

"We looked inside their minds and found such difference," she answered.

"Right, already another voice in there, why not just override that one?" the Doctor snorted. "But seeing the future, that is _way_ beyond psychic, they can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"

The High Priestess only glared at him, obviously feeling that he'd asked enough questions.

"Right, Hermione, get down the grate," the Doctor said, still wielding his weapon.

"What?" she blinked at him.

"Just do it!" he ordered.

She sighed and walked over to it, throwing a leg over before slipping down, scoffing when part of the dress got stuck on the metal and just tore it off at the knees.

"Why can't they predict the volcano, why is it being hidden?" the Doctor asked, moving to the grate slowly.

"Sisters!" the Sword Sister exclaimed, "I see into his mind! The weapon is harmless!"

The Doctor grimaced and glanced at Hermione, who only had her head peeking up, and was grimacing too.

"Yeah, but it's got to sting," he admitted before squirting the High Priestess, shooing Hermione down the grate and slipping in after her as the High Priestess wailed over the water.

Hermione let out a laugh and turned to him as he appeared beside her, "You fought her off with a water pistol!" Another laugh as he grinned at her, her shaking her head at him, "I bloody love you."

He chuckled, patting her back before crawling over to a tunnel where they could stand, "This way!"

Hermione stowed her wand in her pocket, crawling after him, "Where are we going now?"

"Into the volcano!" he said happily.

She frowned at him, "I take back my previous statement."

"Can't! It's nonrefundable! It's mine now!" he said as he led them away.

* * *

"We're right in the heart of it," the Doctor said, pulling Hermione behind a rock and peering out at the Pyroviles that clomped their way around, "And right there is their ship…or, rather, what's left of it." He pointed, but Hermione only glanced back, as she was digging around for her wand in her pocket. So far she'd found both of her shoes and a sock, but she couldn't fend for herself with a ruddy sock.

"Maybe the tremors are them trying to get back into space or something," she said, still looking.

"Oh, it's worse than that," he told her.

"Of course it is," she mumbled, growling in annoyance before brightening as she plucked her wand out of the pocket, "Got it!"

"Brilliant, 'cause I think you're going to need it," he muttered as the shaking got closer.

Hermione glanced up and hissed when she saw Lucius opening his mouth, pointing at them. She flicked her wand, sending him onto his back. She slapped her hand over her forehead when he tumbled rocks down, still telling the Pyrovile that they were there.

"Great going, Hermione, you really done it," she muttered to herself as the Doctor pulled her away. They were stopped by a large Pyrovile blocking their path. The Doctor reached for his water pistol, but Hermione pointed her wand and said "Auguamenti" and a stream of water sailed onto the monster.

The Doctor grinned at her, "You're useful."

She frowned back at him, "I tell you I love you when you squirt somebody with a bloody water pistol, but when I have a gallon of water pour on a giant bloody monster, all you say is '_you're useful_'?"

"I appreciate you," he patted her cheek before grabbing her wrist and pulling her along.

"There's nowhere to run, Doctor!" Lucius called out, a bump on his head.

"I knew Lucius wasn't a name for a good guy!" Hermione yelled at him, flicking her wand again, turning him blue, "Now be a good Smurf and _go away!"_

"What was the purpose of turning him blue again?" the Doctor questioned with a grin.

Hermione shrugged, "I don't really know, but let's say it'll teach him a lesson."

He shook his head and pulled them along, towards the ship, Pyrovile clumping along after them. The Doctor was saying something to Lucius, but Hermione's head was spinning far too much to listen. Blood was rushing in her ears and she felt as though her eyes couldn't focus on anything, like the room was spinning and the only two things that were stable were her and the Doctor. She _really_ didn't do well in the heat, she decided. But then again, who could in the heart of a volcano? Oh, that's right, the ruddy man who she willingly followed there.

"If you've crashed and you've got all this technology, why not just go home?" the Doctor yelled back at Lucius as Hermione slumped against him and closed her eyes, trying to think properly.

"Pyrovilia is gone!" Lucius called back.

"What do you mean it's gone, where's it gone?"

"It was taken! Pyrovilia is lost!"

"Boys, boys, you're both pretty, but – Doctor, I believe we have much more important matters on our hands besides finding out where their home is," Hermione interrupted, making the Doctor blink at her and smooth her hair back to look at her worriedly.

"There is enough heat here for a new species to rise!" Lucius continued as if he hadn't heard Hermione.

"Yeah, I should warn you, it's seventy percent water out there," the Doctor said dully as he held his hands to Hermione's face, making her frown at him and wave him off.

"Water can boil and everything will burn!"

"Merlin, you're hard-headed for a blueberry," Hermione muttered, making the Doctor grin at her before looking worriedly at the ship behind them.

"Then…everything _is_ at stake." He grinned at her before giving a little bow to Lucius, "Thank you, Mister Blueberry, that's all I needed to know. Come along, Darling." He reached for Hermione and began pushing her into the ship, using his screwdriver to shut the door as the Pyrovile roared at him.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked as he began looking over some of the controls.

"You have a choice," he said, glancing up at her, "Pompeii or the world."

"What?" she panted.

"They're using Vesuvius to turn everyone into Pyroviles using a fusion matrix. The matrix will bleed off so much of Vesuvius's pent up energy that there won't be enough for the eruption. Hermione…if we do this – "

"We all die here," she blinked at him as he nodded. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Not the first time I nearly died, but at least it's in better company than that horrid woman." She shot him a smile, "You're far nicer."

He gave a shaky laugh before going back to the controls, looking at them a little nervously, "We push this lever and it's over. Twenty thousand people…."

Her hands covered his on the lever, and she was still smiling at him when he looked up at her, although she was pushing back tears. "You're a madman." He blinked at her and she gave a little laugh, "I'm beginning to believe it's a good thing. It suits you, at least." He gave a laugh to match hers and turned his gaze back on the lever.

"One for the money?" he asked.

"Two for the show."

"Three to get ready."

They both took a deep breath and looked at each other, "And here we go."

The two were thrown back against the door, being shaken inside the escape pod. Hermione cursed madly as they tried to hold on to whatever they could.

When the shaking stopped, they looked at each other curiously before the Doctor opened the door and scrambled out, helping her out before they gaped at each other.

"We're alive!" she exclaimed before he wrapped her up in a hug, messing up her hair before they stopped and gaped at each other once more.

"Get to the TARDIS!" he yelped before dragging her along.

* * *

"Sweetheart, come here, come on, we've got to get you – " Hermione began, reaching for the child before a woman ripped him away and ran off with him. She stared after them before the Doctor grabbed her hand and dragged her away, back towards Caecilius's home, where the family was huddled in a corner and trying to hide from the ashes and smoke.

Hermione saw them and stopped in her tracks, the Doctor stopping once he saw that his companion had stopped following him.

"Doctor, Doctor please, not them," she pleaded as he grabbed her hands and led her towards the TARDIS, "Doctor, no, what about them!"

"Hermione, please, don't do this to me!" he pleaded with her, "Please, just get in the TARDIS!"

"Doctor, you can't leave them!" she repeated as he pushed her in, slamming the door behind them before he made his way to the controls, "Doctor!"

"Don't you think I've done enough?" he snapped, "History's back in place!"

"It's not fair! It's not…not fair," she argued pitifully, slumping against the floor and leaning her head against the cool metal of the controls. He sighed and kneeled down next to her, running his hands through her sweaty curls.

"I know, it's not."

"But your own _planet_," she cried, turning to look at him as his hand froze in her hair, "It burned too."

"But that's just it – don't you see? If I could go back and save them I would but I _can't_, Hermione, _I can't!_"

"Just four people," she was still crying, "Doctor, please, just four people."

He sighed and winced at her, standing and going back to the controls as she went back to putting her head on the metal. The TARDIS was taking off again, the same weird grinding noise. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down, tried to calm her breathing. While she was doing this, she completely missed the Doctor going towards the door and opening it.

"Come with me."

She raised her head and looked at him as he helped Evelina and Metella in, making her bolt up and pull them in as well. When Caecilius and Quintus got through and the door was shut, he went back to the controls again, Hermione following him. When they landed and he turned around, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thank you," she murmured to him.

"Only four," he insisted.

"Only four," she repeated with a smile before letting her arms hanging limply in between them, as he wasn't done hugging her, "You smell like ash."

He chuckled, "You don't smell much better."

"I still can't believe they aren't really married," Metella murmured to her husband, Evelina and Quintus glancing between each other before trying to stifle grins and giggles.

* * *

**And we'll be done with that!**

**I don't think I'm going to do too many episode-based chapters. They take forever and I have to try not to go word-for-word, which is really hard to do when you're simultaneously watching the episode. Plus you can kind of guess what will happen if you've seen the episode. I enjoy the element of surprise. **

**Please review and be patient with me, because I've got not clue what I'm doing most days. Just ask Mom.**

**Love,**

**Ava**


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